Animal shelters must be difficult places to work. People often come in to drop off their pets and don’t seem to have the slightest bit of empathy towards their animals. As a shelter worker, they must develop a pretty thick skin to not be heartbroken after every shift!
Shey is a mini poodle that was dropped off one day.
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa sees lots of animals come and go. Shey is one of the animals that, unfortunately, falls into the category of “dogs who were abandoned” without a seeming care in the world by their owners. The 14-year-old miniature poodle was brought into the shelter by his family. After inquiry, the family revealed they were simply moving and didn’t want to take the dog with them.
After 14 years with the family, Shey was being abandoned.
Shelters aren’t great places for older dogs to be. They often have higher medical expenses and higher upkeep costs. Most people don’t want to adopt a dog that is already in the last years of its life, either. Shey was no exception.
Sitting around for 4 months, Shey wasn’t the “ideal adoption” for most people.
Shey suffered from dental disease and was almost completely toothless. He also had never been neutered and was deaf and half-blind. The poor animal only had one tooth in its mouth that wasn’t rotted out. The senior dog didn’t have a ton of people who were excited about adopting him.
One day, a little boy walked into the shelter.
Little boys and dogs are magical. They always seem to have a special connection that others don’t. When Tristan came into the shelter one day, things were about to change for Shey. Tristan and his mom were looking for a dog who loved to cuddle – the shelter staff knew just the dog.
“Shey is super sweet and wants to be near people all the time,” Jessica Jorgenson, digital content coordinator for the rescue, told The Dodo.
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